Raising a well behaved pup into maturity can be overwhelming! The Smoky Mtn Method is one with over 7 decades of experience. Our owner, Gene Wolfenbarger, and our trainers, have over 7 decades of combined experience. Their expertise has come at a great cost and multiplied thousands of hours of very hard and dedicated work. Gene has been in the dog world for over 4 decades, and after seeing tremendous success in the Treeing Walker World, he stepped over into English Labradors. We have some of the leading trainers in America with over 30 years in training experience.
“Your new dog is going to be a part of your family history. Don’t take short cuts.”
- Gene Wolfenbarger, Founder Smoky Mtn Labradors
Smoky Mtn Labradors offers training to all of our new and old Smoky Mtn pet families. We understand that all trainers have certain training methods. We respect some, but others we choose not to hold to. Here at Smoky Mtn, we understand a puppy has to become a mature adult so that life with your new forever companion is not full of embarrassing moments, but full of joy.
OUR PROCESS:
Being one of the premier breeders in the world, Smoky Mtn Labradors has a very strong infrastructure in place that allows us to produce boys or girls in all three colors. We urge you to think through what color and gender you want before placing your order. The typical wait time for our puppies is 4-6 months. All of our puppies are examined by our Veternarian two different times (6 Weeks and 9 Weeks) before any of our clients see a picture of their puppy. At 8 weeks old, all of our clients are given the choice to enroll their puppy into our Crate Training School, at an additional cost. At Smoky Mtn we only want to deal with a very serious Labrador Buyer, and therefore, all of our puppies are paid for up front in their entirety. If you desire to enter your puppy in our Crate Training School, that is billed at 8 weeks old.
Our Crate Training School has been one of the single greatest decisions we have made for our clients. We would have never believed that installing a 16 week old puppy into our clients’ home would result in their complete satisfaction, knowing we have done the very hard work early on for them. Our 4 month old pups that are installed after Crate Training School and their 4 Veternarian examinations here are the guarantee our clients are looking for in the purchase of a lifetime companion. Our school involves over 728 hours of oversight in 8 weeks by our paid staff. This allows us to see the puppy’s entire personality develop and watch the development of that pup in its most crucial health stage. This is the most recommended route that assures you that you’re making the correct choice.
From time to time our potential clients will confuse the two levels of training. Level 2 Training takes place after the puppy is 9 months old and has been living with you for 5 months. We have learned the very hard way to let the puppy go home at 4 months old and allow it to be a puppy before it begins Behavior Training. You really need to bond with your pup during the 4-9 month stage, and when we introduce your puppy to our trainers, they are ready for the off-leash training which is the highest level of training being done today in the dog training world. You do not want to confuse the two - Crate Training and Behavior Training. We have learned to separate them by months and that allows the puppy to properly mature. Keep reading below to learn more about the distinction between the two training programs.
OUR LEVELS:
Level 1: The Companion (8 Weeks Old)
Training begins during the most formative, yet perhaps the most difficult, days in the life of your puppy. We strive to make every puppy behave well and understand the boundaries required to become a great pet, one that does not impose undue burdens on its human family. Your puppy is monitored day and night to learn crate training. In addition to training and boarding fees, all puppies that stay here or at one of our satellite kennels will be taken on a regular basis to our veterinarian for appropriate shots and examinations. While your puppy is undergoing Level 1 training with us, we make sure it receives all three levels of veterinarian checks.
Level 2: The Ultimate Companion (8 Months Old)
The serious pet owner is the intended target of Level 2 training. Foundational training is embedded into the pup early with the goal that it remains with the pup throughout its life. Level 2 expedites the training so that the pup grows and matures faster as it learns things that typically could take 2 – 3 years.
This training level teaches the dog basic obedience, including:
Attention-getting exercise that teaches the dog its name and to look directly at the handler when it hears it. This is the foundation for everything you will ever ask of your dog, because paying attention is the way to get it to perform anything within its ability.
Leash manners teach the dog to behave properly when leashed. The objective is to prevent the dog from pulling and jerking on the leash. During this stage, dogs are also taught not to jump on people.
Sit/stay lessons train pups to sit quickly as soon as commanded and to stay until released or asked to perform another action.
Down/stay lessons teach the dog to lie down immediately and stay until released or asked to perform another action.
Come request means that the dog is expected to come and sit in front of the handler and stay until told otherwise or asked to perform another task.
Heel is the command given to the dog to walk on the handler’s left side and turn or go faster or slower as directed. When the handler stops, the dog sits. When released, the dog moves without pulling or jerking on the leash.
Place means that the dog goes to its crate or designated mat and stays until released. You simply point to the place and say “place.” It’s that simple!
Each command is taught in a controlled environment and repeated until the dog understands what is expected.
TRAINING RESOURCES:
Crate Training: Part One
Crate Training: Part Two
Dog Training: Level One
Dog Training: Level Two
Level Two: Demonstration
